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'I estimate that the likelihood of us transforming our fortunes are slimmer than Leicester claiming the Premier League, so they are in our favour, right?' Christian Fuchs is reflecting on his recent venture as manager of Newport County, and the immense task of averting a fall into non-league football. Here lies a challenge at the polar opposite of the scale, though that miraculous title win in 2016 furnished him a great deal more than a winner's medal. {'It assisted in altering my mindset a little bit ... it proved that the unattainable can be possible,' he remarks.

The Unlikely Path to Rodney Parade

The obvious place to start is: what brought Fuchs end up here? 'I suppose that's the part that's not logical, right?' he states, breaking into laughter. This remark acts as the 39-year-old's opening gambit and a clear sign of his playful character across a wide-ranging conversation. Discourse travels in different directions, from being managed by the current England boss and Brendan Rodgers to the urgent quest to find a local barber.

He looks at some mail on his desk. There is a note from a Leicester supporter wishing him well, paired with a couple of shiny pictures from that season. {'Young Fuchs,' he remarks, smiling. Another delivery brings a stash of old collector's items, one from an album marking Euro 2016, when he skippered Austria. A card from the Newport Supporters’ Club is displayed prominently. 'Stuff like this really makes me very happy,' he states.

A Prior Encounter and a Misspelt Name

Prior to returning from North Carolina to take on his first job in first-team coaching last month, Fuchs’s previous visit to Rodney Parade was in January 2019, when Leicester were on the end of a Newport shock defeat in the FA Cup third round. That day the Newport kit man faced off against Fuchs. {'He had the match of his career,' Fuchs recalls. But when the lineup cards dropped, an interesting error emerged. {'You need to edit this,' Fuchs says with a smile. 'They misspelt my name – somehow a 'k' found its way in in place of the 'h'. It is amusing because Fuchs, in German, means fox, so it’s something fitting.'

Experiences from Ranieri, Rodgers and Tuchel

His move to join the Foxes in the summer of 2015 proved a masterstroke. A couple of weeks later Leicester appointed Claudio Ranieri and what followed is legendary. The Italian came to the club in the middle of a pre-season camp in Austria and his observational approach did the trick. {'When you see Claudio you picture an elder gentleman, so long in the business, maybe a bit set in his ways, but he’s so not,' Fuchs explains. {'He just said he was going to monitor training in Austria for the first week. He remained on the sidelines at all. After that week we had a meeting and he said: 'I’ve watched you for a week and I’m not going to modify anything.''

Fuchs cherishes experiences from Rodgers and Tuchel, under whom he worked while on loan at Mainz. {'He always considered: ‘How can I get extra out of the players? How can I challenge them psychologically?’’ Fuchs says of Tuchel. {'That’s a significant part of our philosophy as well. How can you make good players who choose wisely? Back then he was probably in a analogous place to where I am now … very focused, very keen to prove himself.'

Origins and a Resolute Character

Fuchs’s determination stems from his upbringing in Neunkirchen. {'There are comparisons to where we are now, because I was told when I was 11 years old that I would never be good enough,' he shares. {'There are people who let that overcome them or there are people who say: ‘Forget you, I’m going to show you.’ I’ve been told too many times: ‘You can not do this, you can not do that.’ I’m going to demonstrate that I can and work my socks off. The other thing about my personality is: I’m quite headstrong. If I see potential, I’m making it happen.'

Analytical Approach and the Struggle for Survival

Fuchs’s assistant, Mark Smith, was born in Newport and previously led Fuchs’s Fox Soccer Academy. Fuchs fires up his laptop to show statistics from a recent 2-2 draw, displaying a slide he showed his players. {'The team hit several season bests,' he points out, highlighting ball progression and statistics about penetrating defensive lines. Passing accuracy was logged at 87%. {'Not satisfied with that … that needs to be in the mid-90s,' he states. {'My first game, it was very long-ball, fourth-tier football, but we want to be distinct. I think a five-yard pass has a higher percentage to be successful than just hoofing it all the time.'

The broader numbers paint sobering reading. Newport have managed three of 19 league matches and are without a victory in eight in all competitions. By the time of their next home game, they will have not won a game at home for 273 days and have kept just two clean sheets in 26 matches this season. But a recent injury-time equaliser with 10 men earned a crucial point. {'We need to be a dominant side at home,' Fuchs stresses. {'It’s just not good enough, not even having a win. We need to create a stronghold.'

Still a Player at Heart

By his own acknowledgement, Fuchs likes a challenge. {'What’s so negative with that?' He ended his playing career less than three years ago and, like Tuchel, likes being in the thick of things. {'I’m a part of the group. I’m still a player inside,' he states, indicating his chest. {'At training I’m always participating in the small-sided games – two nutmegs already, yes! I want us to view each other as one team. Yes, you’re the ones on the field, but we’re one team, we’re tackling this collectively.'